MiR-145 reduces the activity of PI3K/Akt and MAPK signaling pathways and inhibits adipogenesis in bovine preadipocytes.

Adipose tissue is the largest metabolic organ because of adipogenesis controlled by numerous miRNAs. MiR-145 is classified into the same cluster with famous miR-143. However, few studies have investigated the role of miR-145 in adipogenesis. In the current study, we observed that the expression of miR-145 was downregulated during bovine adipogenesis in vivo and in vitro. The results of RNA-Seq analysis showed that miR-145 mainly disturb the PI3K/Akt and MAPK signaling pathways in bovine preadipocytes. MiR-145 inhibited bovine preadipocyte differentiation and downregulated phosphorylation level of Akt and ERK1/2 proteins. Furthermore, insulin, as a powerful inducer initiating adipogenesis and an activator of the PI3K/Akt and MAPK signaling pathways, was able to rescue the downregulation of Akt and ERK1/2 phosphorylation levels caused by miR-145. Taken together, our findings suggest that miR-145 is a potent inhibitor of adipogenesis that may function by reducing the activity of PI3K/Akt and MAPK signaling pathways.